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UNITED NATION/WASHINGTON/ROME — Staff and personnel working with the UN agency for Palestine refugees on Sunday described the situation in the Gaza Strip as "catastrophic" amidst Israeli bombardment and appealed for immediate supplies of food, water and medicines for children, pregnant women and elderly in their shelters.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has issued an emergency appeal to support Palestinian refugees in Gaza, saying that hundreds of thousands of Palestine refugees are suffering the consequences of the heavy escalation in violence on the Gaza Strip.
"Please save Gaza, I beg you, save Gaza. It's dying. It's dying. It's dying," Rawya Halas, head of the UNRWA shelter in Khan Younis, Gaza, said in a video posted by UNRWA on the site X on Sunday.
"The situation is catastrophic, catastrophic, catastrophic"
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 15, 2023
🆘 The humanitarian crisis in📍#Gaza is dire.
Our @UNRWA colleague Rawya reports the desperate need for food, water, and medicine for the people fleeing their homes who are now dying without these supplies available. pic.twitter.com/eZlkL7xQYk
Since the unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, the Israeli military has warned 1.1 million Palestinians living in north Gaza to evacuate south, and thousands of families have been fleeing by vehicle or on foot.
"There are children, elderly and adults for whom I cannot provide. I am UNRWA. I'm the head of the shelter and I cannot offer them anything, neither food nor water."
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]In the video, Halas makes an emotional appeal for help, the desperation and sadness in her voice of not being able to provide essential medicines and food to the refugees in the shelter, palpable.
"The situation we are in now is unprecedented and cannot be described with words," Halas said in the video adding that 15,000 Palestinian refugees are in the shelter. "They left their homes without food or drink."
She said that in the shelter, there are people who have diabetes, disabled babies and some children who have now contracted smallpox.
"The centre cannot accommodate this number, neither in terms of food, bathrooms, water nor electricity. The electricity will be cut off shortly. We will not be able to attend to people," Halas said. "We don't know how to meet their needs. There is nothing, nothing.
"We are looking for someone to give them food and water. They came with nothing. They are not beggars. They have their money but where can we buy supplies? We need insulin, people are dying. We can't provide them with anything. The situation is a catastrophic, catastrophic, catastrophic situation."
In another post on X on Sunday, UNRWA staff Azzam said that "being in Gaza these days is all about surviving, not just living. Having some water for a shower is like being in a five-star hotel while having the phone fully charged is a dream."
With the hashtag Hear Their Voices', UNRWA is posting messages of desperation and appeal from its colleagues and personnel who are on the ground in Gaza, trying to help the hundreds of thousands of people displaced and impacted over the last week of escalating violence and attacks.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the "horrific terror attacks" by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel killed more than 1,200 people and injured thousands more last Saturday. These were followed by intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza that has already killed more than 2,300 people and injured thousands more.
UNRWA had earlier noted that since October 7, over 423,000 people have already been displaced. Of them, more than 270,000 have taken refuge in UNRWA shelters. UN Women reports that Gaza is home to 50,000 pregnant women who are struggling to access essential health services as healthcare workers, hospitals and clinics come under attack. Some 5,500 of these women are due to give birth in the coming month.
"A few minutes of the internet is far beyond dreaming. My day starts earlier than before these days, way before sunrise with massive and noisy bombardment happening almost every 10 or 15 minutes throughout the night," Azzam said.
"These are the sleepless nights literally. Bombardment doesn't stop during daylight but it is less heavy or maybe I feel so it's more like the nightmare is always bigger and heavier during the dark. In the daylight, maybe things are a bit calmer. Well, this is how I think," Azzam said.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths sounded a dire warning in a post on X. "The specter of death is hanging over #Gaza. With no water, no power, no food and no medicine, thousands will die. Plain and simple," Griffiths said.
In another message, a UNRWA colleague in Gaza said, "We keep repeating that we all should stay together in the same room. If we are to be killed, let us all die together.
"Honestly, none of us are fine," Helen from Gaza said in a message. She added that those who are dead "are living with us and those of us who are alive are dead."
Helen further said in the message that UNRWA shared on X that it is a "miracle of God" that they emerged from under the rubble with only some minor injuries.
"They bombed the whole square," and there are dead bodies all around. "Oh God, Oh God, please help us. If we are destined to die, please let it be sooner rather than later."
Egypt moves troops to Gaza border
Egypt is stepping up its military presence at its Rafah border crossing with Gaza, with fears that Israel intends to push hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees over the frontier into the Sinai desert, media reports said.
Cairo has said the expulsion of so many Palestinians from their homes would be breach of international law, and a national security risk for Egypt that is liable to bankrupt the country’s ailing economy, The Guardian reported.
Palestinians themselves, and other Arab states, fear refugees would never be allowed back to their homes.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has said that Palestinians in Gaza must “stay steadfast and remain on their land.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he was in full agreement with Egypt.
Speaking in Cairo he said: “I repeat once again that we are inviting Israel to comply with international law. We are against the displacement of Palestinians. We will never approve of the policy of expulsion to Egypt.”
Biden calls Netanyahu, Palestinian Prez. Abbas
President Joe Biden reiterated the US' unwavering support for Israel and emphasised the need for humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine as he held separate phone calls with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders amid escalating tensions in Gaza, the White House has said.
In his first call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas since Hamas' unprecedented assault on Israel a week ago, Biden stressed that the militant group "does not stand for the Palestinian people's right to dignity and self-determination".
Biden discussed with Abbas US' efforts to work with the United Nations, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and others to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians in Gaza.
The President also called Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his fifth such call Hamas' assault last week.
In both calls, Biden stressed the need to prevent the conflict from expanding. He spoke to both leaders about coordination with the United Nations, Egypt, Jordan and other countries in the region to ensure access to water, food and medical care for all civilians.
"Abbas briefed Biden on his engagement in the region and his efforts to bring urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza. Biden offered Abbas and the Palestinian Authority his full support for these important and ongoing efforts," the White House said on Saturday.
"This afternoon, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reiterate unwavering US support for Israel. President Biden updated Prime Minister Netanyahu on US military support and reiterated his warning against anyone seeking to expand the conflict," it said.
Pope Francis renews call for release of Israeli hostages
Pope Francis on Sunday renewed his call for the release of Israeli hostages held by Gaza's militant Hamas rulers and called for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza.
"I continue to follow with much sorrow what is happening in Israel and Palestine," Francis said during his Sunday's Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square. "I think back to the many people, especially the little ones and the elderly."
The Pope reiterated his appeal for the release of scores of Israeli hostages snatched during Hamas' deadly incursion into southern Israel last weekend and taken to Gaza.
"I strongly ask that the children, the elderly, women and all civilians don't become victims of the conflict," Francis said. He added that humanitarian law must be respected, "especially in Gaza where there is an urgent need to guarantee humanitarian corridors and to rescue the entire population".